Hangout on Air - International women's day

SARAH SPEAKE: So, a very, very warm welcome everybody. My name is Sarah Speake and this is a live Hangout on Air In celebration of International Women's Day entitled "Women Who Inspire." And I'm very, very pleased to be able to share some truly inspirational Google women with both Google employees, or Googlers, as we're known, as much as many external friends, guests, and partners. So welcome. We'll be hanging out for 30 minutes during which time I'll ask a number of questions. And I'm going to start by introducing a bit more about me before I introduce some of our distinguished guests. So, I've spent my entire career to date in technology-related roles and organizations. And I'm very, very proud to be at Google, particularly because of how they recruited me. So, my name is Sarah Speake. I am now strategic marketing director for Google UK and Ireland, and I was headhunted by Google when I was eight and a half months pregnant with my second child. And thought the headhunter was either mad or hadn't done his homework. In that no organization that I'd ever heard of previously would recruit a woman two weeks before she gave birth let alone when she certainly wasn't going to be around to work for at least six months. So as you can tell we work for a pretty special organization that very, very much promotes diversity and women in the workplace. And a couple of years after starting here at Google, so six years ago for me, I was then on maternity leave with my third child and was promoted whilst on maternity leave. So, a great celebration of women and, as I said earlier, a very, very happy International Women's Day to all of you. So we have at the moment four incredible women that have joined me. And I'd like to ask each of them to introduce themselves, talk a bit about how they came to Google, and a bit about their background before we dive into the specifics around tips and perspectives they can share with you [INAUDIBLE]. And Fionnuala, I'd like to start with you please. FIONNUALA MEEHAN: Hi everyone. My name is Fionnuala Meehan, and I'm director of sales here in our EMEA headquarters. I run some of the EMEA sales teams here in Dublin. So I'm with Google seven years, and I have worked most of my life in multinationals. So I came to Google after having spent time working with AOL and working with Best Western. And I suppose one of the reasons that I came to Google is I had experienced the fast pace in AOL and wanted more. And also I thoroughly believed in the products and really something that I could sign up to. My background in terms of what I studied, actually, not technology related, but I think that makes it even more interesting. I studied European studies with languages in my undergraduate. I think I probably bring a little bit more of a diverse and balanced view to some of the conversations in here, which is definitely a role I enjoy playing. SARAH SPEAKE: That's great. Thank you. Beryl, could I ask you to share your story too please. BERYL NELSON: Sure. Well, thank you for inviting me. I'm Beryl Nelson. I work in Krakow, Poland. I'm an engineering manager for the team that built some of the web search infrastructure that you use when you're typing in your Google search. I was hired by Google three years ago when I was living in Hyderabad, India. And I moved to Poland last year in April. My career has been primarily in various low-level coding compilers. I worked on an automatic integrated circuit tester when I lived in Japan. But the path to Google was definitely not straight. My academic background also included some computer science, but my major in college, when I was at MIT, was mathematics. I did take computer science classes there, and my master's is actually in genetic biochemistry. So, like you, it wasn't a direct path, and somewhat diverse. SARAH SPEAKE: Which is great. And certainly, many of our colleagues in each of the countries in which we work come from very, very different backgrounds indeed, many non-engineering. Fernanda, can I turn over to you now please. FERNANDA WEIDEN: Yes. Welcome everybody. Well, my name is Fernanda Weiden. I am originally from Brazil, but I'm a site reliability engineering manager in our Zurich office in Switzerland. My background in computer science is a little bit different because I actually started getting involved with technology through the open source community. And then I got interested in having all this social network around computers and technology. And that's how I ended up becoming a systems administrator. And while I was speaking at a conference about women participation in the open source community about six and a half years ago was when I actually got [? searched ?] by a recruiter from Google. And I have been working at Google for a little over six years now. SARAH SPEAKE: Fantastic. Thank you. And Natalia, over to you please. NATALIA MARMASSE: Hi. Happy International Women's Day everybody. I'm also very happy to have been invited here. I also don't have a very direct path. I'm a member of a kibbutz, which is a communal farm in Israel. And I'd been working in agriculture and milking cows for a few years. And then when I was lucky to get an undergrad scholarship I decided I should probably study something else than agriculture just sort of as a backup plan in case I got fed up with agriculture or that didn't work out so well. So looking at different options I ended up deciding to study computer science. And, needless to say, I never went back to working in agriculture full time since then. I then worked as a programmer for several years at different companies. And after several years I decided to go back to school, and I was extremely fortunate to get a scholarship to the MIT Media Lab where I did my master's and my PhD. And this for me was really a life changing part of my life. I got involved there with wearable computing and mobile computing. And this is in the '90s before there were any mobile phones let alone Androids to hack. I've been at Google since we opened our offices up here in Israel, which is almost six years ago. And I'm currently leading the emerging markets engineering team here. SARAH SPEAKE: Fantastic. Thank you. So, for anybody who has just joined us, you are on a Google+ "Women Who Inspire" Hangout on Air. And, we've just had the introductions from four incredible women who work here at Google. Beryl, I'd like to come back to you please and ask what it's like being a leader at Google? BERYL NELSON: It's very different being a leader at Google than from almost any other company I've been at because there is more bottom up decision making at Google. In fact, the traditional managers have a hard time here because they can't hire people, they can't fire people, they can't tell the engineers what to do. You have to actually convince people that what needs to happen is the right choice out of many options. So it's very exciting for me to work with people who respect my opinion, and I respect their opinion, and we can have healthy dialogues to solve problems. The difference between a leader and the people who are working for the leader, you could say-- well, I would say everybody at Google is expected to be a leader, actually. Leadership, you could recognize it by the accomplishments of the team, primarily. SARAH SPEAKE: Thank you. And I'd certainly echo that. We are very, very definitely encouraged to allow everybody here at Google to have a voice. And I'm delighted that every day I still learn as much from the very young people that report to me as people with far, far, more experience, which is fantastic. Fionnuala, in your view, what's different about being a leader here at Google versus your other experience in previous organizations? FIONNUALA MEEHAN: I think the main difference is what Beryl talked about, which is being so open to not being center stage. And I often say one of my most important roles as a leader is to get out of the way of my team and let them succeed. And so, it's a lot about giving people the space to succeed, the space to make mistakes, and coming in at the right time. And that's actually a difficult thing to do because it's easier, in a way, to just go in and be very prescriptive about what you think needs to happen. So I think there's a big emphasis on how are you developing people in your team to think for themselves, to fail for themselves, sometimes. But then how do you support them when it goes wrong and, equally, when they're successful? That's probably the biggest difference for me. SARAH SPEAKE: And I think giving people the space to fail is something that definitely requires a leap of faith to do. Natalia, I'd like to come back to you now please. If you were turning back the clock to your younger self what would you do differently and what key tips would you give your younger self now that you're far, far more experienced and knowledge about working life? NATALIA MARMASSE: I think the key tips, the key things to my younger self-- and I think the key tips I would give anybody-- is really focus on two things. One, be passionate about what you work on. I think this is one of the most important things. And the second one is be very good at what you work on. If you focus on just these two things everything else is going to fall into place. I've heard too many people contemplating is this a good decision for my career, is this going to advance me in the right direction? I think if you focus on what you're passion about and you're good at what you do everything else is going to fall into place. SARAH SPEAKE: I'd echo that. I think if I were looking back, I would probably stop worrying quite so much about other people's perceptions of me, and trying to change my personality and style to fit other people's. And be a lot more authentic, which I think is much, much easier now with time and experience. But it is certainly the main piece of advice I think I would give myself looking back. Fernanda, I'd like to ask you the same question please. What tips would you give to the younger Fernanda? FERNANDA WEIDEN: So the first one-- well, I work in engineering and it is a male dominated environment. And for a lot of years I felt that I would shape my career a lot based on the opportunities that I was given to. And I wouldn't go out there and try to find those opportunities and make things happen for myself. And I think taking responsibility for your own development, that's one of the things that I would tell to my younger self. Just make sure if you want these things to happen to you don't wait for them to knock at your door. Go out there and do that. When Google hired me I would never consider sending a resume to Google because I thought that I would never make through, especially with my background. I did not have a bachelor's degree in computer science, and I thought that I could never possibly be hired by a company like Google to work in the engineering department. And once this opportunity came to me-- which is a good thing because it aligns with the way things are at Google-- it made me think that, OK, if this happens and everything works so far I can do anything now. And I started taking more ownership over my career. And I think I should have done that a little earlier on in the process. SARAH SPEAKE: But at least you've done it now, which is definitely what counts. Just following on from that, are there any specific people that you think have helped you along the way? So, have you had any mentors or sponsors that have really helped you in grasping the opportunity? FERNANDA WEIDEN: I do have two persons that I think are the ones that gave me a lot of inspiration and support. First was my first manager when I was working in my first technical job back in Brazil. He was very knowledgeable as an engineer and he taught me a lot of stuff. And he was the one that told me that when it comes to technology there is always an answer and that I shouldn't take no. There is nothing you cannot do with technology, which is one of the things that still fascinates me about it. And another thing that helps me as an engineer that at Google, even though you are a manager, you participate in designing solutions, and having discussions with your team, and trying to shape the solutions your team develop. And he also used to say that for big design architectures, if it's too complicated it's because it's probably wrong and you should rethink it. So those are the two things that I carry with myself to this day. And second, I had a woman, actually, [? Alta ?] Sosa, she met me through community involvement. And less than a year later she hired me to work for her at IBM and started a big open source development lab in Brazil. And she was always an inspiration to me because she is so passionate about what she does. And she is a very good manager. The first time that I thought of myself maybe being a manager was looking at the passion that she had with the people reporting to her. And this thing about it doesn't matter if you are more into the sales organization or if you are an engineering manager-- but having that passion for helping people to get the best that they can get out of themselves. I think that was really inspiring for me, and it still is now that I am two and a half years into a management position. SARAH SPEAKE: That's great. And certainly as somebody who's very, very passionate about Google and technology, I can certainly relate to that. Beryl, I'd like to come back to you now and ask whether there are any specific people who've really inspired you throughout your career? BERYL NELSON: Yes, there's been many people who've been both personally helpful and interesting role models for me. Like Fernanda said, in my first technology job I had a really good team. And my tech lead was very good at pointing out places that I had to start making an effort to learn more, or helping me understand how to solve problems in ways that were effective. But also helping me understand when something I did was really important. And that's something that you have to learn when you're young. Here at Google, when I moved from India to Poland, I knew I needed to find a new position. I talked to many people. Actually, at Google in general, it's really easy to find people who are good mentors. You can just talk with almost anybody and they'll give you good advice. But there were a few people who were particularly helpful. One is a woman director who went out of her way to introduce me to some other directors and say, here's a person who can do things. And that's a really specific active sponsorship. And when I moved to Poland I actually knew both the director here in Poland and the director in California on the team that I eventually joined. And they both have continued to be involved in the work I'm doing, although the one in Poland is no longer working in this area. But I've admired them because they're both very technically focused. They're different from each other. They have very different styles. But the director in Poland [INAUDIBLE] very achievement oriented. It's a really good focus to have to think how am I going to make the biggest impact for the amount of investment I'm prepared to make in this problem area? And it's good to keep that in mind. But he's also really good at growing people. And so that's good both for me personally and for me thinking about my team. And my director in California also is very generous with time. The time zone difference he takes into consideration, and so on, and he's extremely knowledgeable about this area. So almost any kind of problem that we can post to him technically, he has ideas about whether they'll be effective or not, how to measure them, and so on. And so [INAUDIBLE]. I can't say that there's a single person that I would consider a role model because they're men, right? And I'm also a mother I have other things in my life. I would say that for me role models are taking a bit from lots of different people that I see. SARAH SPEAKE: I see lots of nodding, and I personally agree with that [? in person, ?] in that I would really struggle to pull out one specific role model. And, I think, almost a better way of looking at it is to work out all the different bits of various inspirational people that we aspire to. And I certainly take inspiration from many, both internally and externally, and, of course, from close friends outside work. Fionnuala, I'd like to ask you the same question. So whether it's a specific role model or a person or group of people that you find inspirational. FIONNUALA MEEHAN: Yeah, I think about two people primarily. And I suppose it's only now that I would consider them as role models. It's only now when you're looking back, you think, oh, that really did have an influence on me. So the first one was Una who was my first boss at a AOL. And when I joined AOL the whole organization was changing, and she was kind of my constant in all of that. And she was heavily pregnant at the time and went on maternity leave. And when she came back she was promoted to VP. And to me that just completely blew my mind that she could be so successful and juggle so many things. And I suppose somewhere I logged that in the back of my mind that it was possible to do it. I definitely took that from her. My second boss in AOL was Tony. And I suppose what I learned from him is just an insatiable desire for high standards, which was intensely frustrating at times to have him as a boss. But it's really stuck with me, and I suppose that just his high standards and his determination to keep them is something that stays with me now in terms of how do you set yourself apart. I think sometimes it is just sticking to the standards that you have. So that's definitely what I learned from him. SARAH SPEAKE: So you referenced somebody there that clearly has a huge influence on you as a multitasker extraordinaire. And I think many of us are. So outside work I am also a mother, I am a bereaved mother, so I do a lot of work with a charity called SANDS that works with-- and I personally counsel lots of other bereaved parents. I passionately *** the drum about women's rights and equality, and will continue to do so. And I have great fun spending time with my family, who are the most important things to me in the world, more than any job or any organization ever will be, which I think is the right way around. When you're not at Google what are you, who are you, and how do you spend your time? And I'd like to come back to Natalia to ask you first, please. NATALIA MARMASSE: So something I invest a lot of time in is getting kids involved in or interested in science and technology. And that is not necessarily classroom maths and so forth. But a fantastic way to do that is, for example, via robotics. I just spent the last two days, actually, being the judge at a regional competition. FIRST Organization, if you're familiar with it, it's a little international robotics competition for children. And that's a fantastic way of getting kids interested in mechanics, electronics, programming, and so forth. And not less important, getting them to learn team dynamics, how to respect each, other values which are very important, decision making in a big group, and so forth. So that's one side. I am also very, very passionate about attracting, especially girls from an early age, to technology, to maths. Letting them see that they can achieve not less than guys, just as much and sometimes much more, and believing in themselves that they can do this. So that's something very important for me. SARAH SPEAKE: That's great, and particularly to hear that you're an inspiration for so many younger women, which I think is important to create the next future of inspirational superstars. So Fernanda, what about you? Who and what are you outside Google? FERNANDA WEIDEN: So since I joined Google, I continue to keep my involvement with the free software, open source community active. So I'm a member of the Free Software Foundation Europe, which is an organization that actually works on various aspects of digital freedom for internet computer users. And I'm also pursuing my MBA degree now because I decided that after so many years working as an engineer, now that I've gone to the management path, I wanted to maybe have that formal education I didn't have in computer science. I studied computer science for three years but I don't have a degree in it. So I thought now I want some paper that says that I can be a good manager because, I don't know, sometimes it's good to have something to just back you up. I don't know, not back you up because the market requires or because my job or something, it's just for myself. So I'm investing a lot of time in the MBA degree. And whenever I can I'm taking opportunities to try to teach women and girls to use technology. So last year I organized a three-day seminary on systems administration, Unix system administration, for girls during a big technology conference. And I tried to put the little drops of things that I believe will make-- not the world, they say-- but especially the technology field a little bit more balanced in terms of gender equality. I know that a diverse team is something that is very beneficial for the results and the things that you get out of it. And I appreciate very much working with teams, group that are more diverse. So let's see whether I can also help, like Natalie wants to get, the next generation with a little bit more equality in this area. SARAH SPEAKE: Let's hope so, eh? So, as everybody has heard, we will continue to multitask extraordinarily and embark on lots and lots of things outside Google as well. Beryl and Fionnuala, as we're running out of time, I don't think I'm going to have a chance to ask you, which means that maybe we should hang out together some other time in the not too distant future. For anybody's who's joined us, you have been watching part of the Life at Google series, and a Hangout on Air with women who certainly inspire me and I hope have inspired many of you. A huge, huge thank you to Fionnuala, Beryl, Natalia, and Fernanda. Very, very much appreciated. A huge thank you to our Googler participants as much as any of our friends and partners externally who have joined us today. This will be broadcast afterwards on YouTube, so if there are any bits you would like to rerun and interact with then please do. I'm really sorry that we're running out of time, and therefore, won't even get to any of the additional questions that were submitted, so would suggest that we have a repeat performance at some point soon. I would just like to leave by wishing you all a very, very happy International Women's Day. As you've heard we have a really diverse mix of women here from cities all over the world. And I wish each of them and each of you a lovely remainder of International Women's Day. And we look forward to seeing you again very soon. Thank you very much for joining us. Bye-bye. FIONNUALA MEEHAN: Thanks. NATALIA MARMASSE: Thanks. Bye. FERNANDA WEIDEN: Bye. BERYL NELSON: Thank you. Bye. SARAH SPEAKE: Bye. Thank you.